Bottle cap stadium table

ABSTRACT

A bottle cap stadium/arena table related to the field of indoor/outdoor furniture. More specifically, a table that mimics a stadium/arena in which sports fans can customize using their own bottle caps. The inventive device includes a table frame with perforated plates that hold decorative bottle caps around the central sporting area that mimics people sitting in the stands; including miniature accessories to depict a particular sporting event (goals, flags). The table, which mimics a miniature stadium/arena, includes a glass tabletop that acts as the table&#39;s surface. The table is user customizable to a specific sporting team.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates to the field of furniture. More specifically theinvention relates to a table that mimics or represents a sportinglayout. In some embodiments, sports fans can customize the table usingtheir own bottle caps.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

There are many varieties of indoor/outdoor tables that already exist. Asdescribed in more detail below, similar tables may include, by way ofexample, a do-it-yourself (DIY) bottle cap table depicting a chosensporting team, an air hockey table, a foosball table, etc.

DIY “Do It Yourself” bottle cap table instructions are available on theInternet. This product consisting of a table in which the bottle capsare laid horizontally on a table and often times an epoxy is poured overthem, or a grout is used to fill the spacing between bottle caps, so thetable is level and flat. Various designs can be made out of the bottlecap layout; however, they are always laid flat, used as the tabletopsurface and/or the bottle caps lay in a plane parallel to the tablesurface. These tables don't represent a stadium/arena. The use ofepoxy/grout makes the bottle cap pattern/layout permanent andnon-replaceable.

Air Hockey tables are something similar, which are already on themarket. A typical air hockey table consists of large smooth playingsurface, a surrounding rail to prevent the puck and mallets from leavingthe table, and slots in the rail at either end of the table that serveas goals. On the ends of the table behind and below the goals, there isusually a puck return. There are no user customizable features of astandard air hockey table.

Foosball tables are something similar, which are already on the market.This product consists of a plastic or metal table where a game of socceris played using players attached to poles. A ball made from varioustypes of material is dropped into the field and players on either sideof the table control the poles to try and score on each other. There areno user customizable features of a standard foosball table.

The present invention seeks to provide a table where sports fans caneasily and simply customize a table (designed to look like a sportsstadium or arena) to their favorite sports team, and to use their ownbottle caps. The present invention does not create a game for people toplay, but rather is a piece of functional furniture and/or piece of artfor their favorite team.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the presentinvention will become fully appreciated as it becomes better understoodwhen considered in conjunctions with the accompanying drawings.Reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout theseveral views:

FIGS. 1A-C are aerial views of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a detailed side view of the table frame, leg, light and decalassembly and glass top of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a detailed side view of an apparatus that holds the bottlecaps in place, in the closed position.

FIG. 4B is a detailed elevation view of a latching mechanism.

FIG. 4C is a detailed side view of the apparatus that holds the bottlecaps in place, in the open position.

FIGS. 5A-B are side views of the rectangular base mounted to a leg.

FIG. 6 is an aerial view of the base plate of the playing area that hasnumerous holes to accommodate any and all sports of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 7-11 are aerial views of diagrams of various sporting layouts.

FIG. 12 is a side view of an accessory for a soccer field.

FIGS. 13A-D are elevation views of a diagram of a football field goalpost and football pylons accessories.

FIGS. 14A-B are elevation views of a diagram of a basketball courtbasketball hoop accessories.

FIG. 15A-F are elevation views of a diagram of a baseball field homeplate, bases No. 1-3, and outfield wall accessories.

FIGS. 16A-D are elevation views of a diagram of a hockey rink goals andsurrounding wall with glass extension accessories.

FIGS. 17A-C are elevation views of a diagram of a soccer field goal andcorner flag accessories.

FIGS. 18A-B are elevation views of a padded headrest.

FIG. 19 is a side view of a plate for holding bottle caps.

FIG. 20 is a side view of a plate for holding bottle caps.

FIG. 21 is a side view of a plate for holding bottle caps.

FIG. 22 is a side view of a plate for holding bottle caps.

FIG. 23A is a front elevation view of a plastic foot.

FIG. 23B is an aerial view of a plastic foot.

FIG. 23C is a side elevation view of a plastic foot.

FIGS. 24A-C are cross-section elevation views of different examples of atop frame profile.

FIG. 25A shows a plan view of a bottle cap held with rubberized nubs.

FIG. 25B shows a cross-section side view of a bottle cap held with arubberized O-ring.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar referencecharacters denote similar elements throughout the several views.

The table of the present invention may comprise any number of legs, forexample, from 1 (a pedestal), 2, 3, 4, 5, to 6 legs, or more.

In a first embodiment, the table of the present invention comprises fourlegs attached to a lower rectangular frame near the middle of the legs,and attached to an upper rectangular frame at the top of the legs. Thelower frame holds a horizontal base that has a sporting surfacedisplayed on the base's upper surface. The upper frame holds an optionaltabletop made of a clear material, such as glass or clear plastic (e.g.,acrylic, Plexiglas).

In other embodiments, the table may be oval or circular in shape, asviewed from the top (See FIGS. 1B, 1C).

FIG. 1A and FIG. 2 illustrates a first example of a table 20, which iscomprised of a tabletop upper frame 21 having four legs 22, 23, 24 and25 which can be made of metallic rectangular tubing (e.g., steel oraluminum) held together by the rectangular lower frame 26, which can bemade of a metallic rectangular tubing. A perforated top plate 27 andit's respective solid back plate 28 are held to a rectangular frame 26via hinges 29, which can be spot welded. Table 20 comprises fourperforated top plates 27 and four solid back plates 28. The perforatedtop plate 27 combines with the solid back plate 28 to form a bottle-capholder plate 97, which is rotatable about an axis that is horizontal. Abattery pack 33 powers lights, which are later described in FIG. 3. Thewire 34 of the lights runs up, for example, leg 25, under the tabletopframe 21. Legs 22, 23, 24, 25 have an upper portion that is angled at anangle, θ, with respect to the horizon (see FIG. 3 and FIG. 5B). Theangle, θ, can range from 20 to 45 degrees, with a preferred angle being30 degrees. The bottom part of legs 22, 23, 24, 25 can be flaredoutwards with each leg having a flared end 99.

FIG. 3 illustrates a bolt 41 which is welded or screwed to the metallictabletop frame 21. The table legs 22, 23, 24, 25 are mounted to thetabletop frame 21, via a screw 40, which is inserted through ahorizontal mounting plate 39, which is mounted to the top of each tableleg 22, 23, 24, 25 and then screwed into the bolt 41. A strand of lights38, which can be LED lights, are tucked into a translucent plastic frame31. The plastic frame 31 is attached to the tabletop upper frame 21 viarubber plugs 36 that pass through holes in the plastic frame 31 and areinserted into holes in an extension 66 of the tabletop frame 21. Theclear tabletop 35 of the table 20 rests on the top of the rubber plugs36 to avoid glass-on-metal contact. A semi-transparent decal 37 isplaced on the plastic piece 31 to mimic stadium signage/lighting. Thislighting technique is used for all sporting layouts (with the exceptionof the soccer field). The lighting layout for the soccer field isdescribed in FIG. 12. Tabletop 35 can be clear glass or clear plastic(e.g., acrylic, Plexiglas).

FIGS. 4A and 4C illustrate a perforated top plate 27 and its respectivesolid back plate 28, which is connected to the tabletop frame 21 via alatching mechanism 42, which has a latch 44. The placement of bottlecaps 43 in perforated top plates 27 is user customizable, and the bottlecaps can represent or mimic an audience of the sporting arena sitting intheir seats. The respective two plates 27 and 28 can be spaced apart adistance that is thinner than the thickness of a standard bottle cap.The perforated plates 27 and their respective back plates 28 can bescrewed together or spot welded together at top 88 and bottom 86locations to form a rotatable bottle-cap holding plate 97, which isattached to the rectangular frame 26 with hinges 29. Plates 27 and 28can be made of metal, e.g., aluminum, aluminum alloy, or steel, orplastic. Plates 27 and 28 can be powder-coated any color, or otherwisepainted or finished with a finish or surface treatment. Use of hinge 29makes the bottle-cap holding plate 97 rotatable about a horizontal axis.The latch 44 can be rotated 90 degrees to latch/unlatch the upper partof holding plate 97 from the tabletop frame 21, as shown in FIG. 4B. Thelatch 44 is attached to the tabletop frame 21 via an angled nut 84.Bottle-cap holding plate 97 is angled at the same angle, θ, with respectto the horizontal, as the upper part of legs 22, 23, 24, 25. The angle,θ, can range from 20 to 45 degrees, with a preferred angle being 30degrees. Alternatively, in place of using actual bottle caps 43, anadhesive decal (or decals) can be placed on bottle-cap holding plate 97that has an artistic depiction of people sitting in their stadium seats.Base plate 47 rests on top of lower frame 26. Spacer block 101 (washer)sits in-between plate 39 and upper frame 21, which can be secured with abolt (not shown). Base 47 can be secured to lower frame 26 using anL-bracket 103 and bolts (not shown).

Bottle caps 43 can be placed by the user in recessed slots(perforations, circular recesses) 83 in the perforated plate 27, whichare supported via the back plate 28. The pattern of recesses 83 can be asimple square pattern, or it can be a hexagonal close packed pattern.Alternatively, the pattern can be a random pattern. The perforatedplates 27 and their respective back plates 28 can be unlatched byoperating the latching mechanism 42 and opening the plates (i.e.,rotated downwards to a horizontal position) in a manner to allowplacement of bottle caps 43 in their designated slots in the perforatedplates 27. When unlatched and rotated to a horizontal position, thebottle-cap holding plate 97 can be supported by a flexible, lightweightchain, strap, loop, or strip of metal, or fabric or plastic or rubber 92that is attached to hooks 94 and 94′. Once all of the bottle caps 43have been placed in it's designated hole on the perforated plate 27, theperforated plate 27 and it's respective back plate 28 can be rotatedback into it's latched position and then latched back to the table mainframe 21 by rotating the latch 44 to its closed position. Alternatively,a thin, clear plastic or clear glass cover plate (not shown) can bedisposed over the bottle caps to keep them in place (e.g., when thetable is being moved). Alternatively, latching mechanism 42 can comprisemagnetic latching means (e.g., a magnet and magnetic material). Otherlatching mechanisms can be used, as is well-known in the art.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrates an example of how the rectangular lowerframe 26 can be attached to each leg 22, 23, 24, 25. An L-shaped bracket32 is welded to each metallic leg 22, 23, 24, 25, and has two threadedholes. Bolts 45, 46 are passed through the rectangular table frame 26and screwed into the L-bracket 32. FIG. 5B is an elevation side viewshowing the upper frame 21, glass top 35, lower frame 26 with base 47resting on frame 26, and legs 22, 23, 24, 25. Sporting surface 64(basketball surface) is disposed on top of base 47. Miniature basketballgoal accessory 65 is bolted down to the top of base 47 using bolt 85.

FIG. 5B and FIG. 6 illustrates the base 47 which will hold thestadium/arena's playing surface (not shown). The base 47 can be attachedto the rectangular frame 26 with screws, L-brackets and welds. Or, thebase 47 can simply rest in the frame 26 under it's own weight. The base47 has numerous holes 48-58 and 87 that accommodate miniatureaccessories of numerous sports layouts, including: football, basketball,baseball, hockey and soccer. Other types of games/events can be mimicked(e.g., tennis, lacrosse, Indianapolis 500 or Le Mans racecar track,track & field). Holes 48 are for the beginning of the end zone pylonsand holes 49 are for the back of the end zone pylons as well as forsoccer corner flags. Holes 50 are for holding football field goal posts.Holes 57 are for holding soccer goals. Holes 55 are for holding hockeygoals and holes 48, 49, 50 and 56 are utilized for the hockey rink wall.Holes 51 are for holding basketball hoops. Holes 52 and 53 are forholding the baseball field home plate and bases Nos. 1-3. Holes 54 arefor holding the baseball field green wall surrounding the outfield.Holes 58 are for holding a shade umbrella, which can pass through theentire table and is supported by an umbrella stand that can rest on thefloor. If customers do not wish to utilize an umbrella they can choosenot to perforate the hole in their respective sports layout. Holes 87are for holding decals for soccer perimeter advertising lights and theirrespective light cables.

Base 47 can comprise a sporting surface disposed on the upper surface ofthe base 47. The sporting surface can be a pattern that is painted(e.g., screen-printed) on the base 47, or it can comprise a separatepiece of plastic (e.g., a plastic film or laminate) that has thesporting surface pattern printed inside the plastic with a matchingpattern of holes that match up to the holes pre-drilled in the base 47.The plastic laminate can be adhesively attached to the base.

FIG. 7 illustrates a football stadium sporting surface 59 by which anartificial turf (or green felt layer) field is laid out. The set ofminiature accessories 60-62 (FIG. 13A, B, C, D) can be passed throughthe grass (or felt) and table base plate 47 and secured by a bolt 85 onthe bottom of the base plate 47.

FIG. 8 illustrates a basketball court sporting surface 64 by which acourt is laid out. The set of miniature accessories 65 (FIG. 14A, B) canbe passed through the court and table base plate 47 and secured by abolt 85 on the bottom of the base plate 47.

FIG. 9 illustrates a baseball field sporting surface 67 by which a fieldis laid out. The set of miniature accessories 68-70 (FIG. 15A, B, C, D,E, F) can be passed through the field and table base plate 47 andsecured by a bolt 85 on the bottom of the base plate 47.

FIG. 10 illustrates a hockey rink sporting surface 72 by which a rink islaid out. The set of miniature accessories 73-74 (FIG. 16A, B, C, D) canbe passed through the court and table base plate 47 and secured by abolt 85 on the bottom of the base plate 47.

FIG. 11 illustrates a soccer field sporting surface 76 by which a fieldis laid out. The set of miniature accessories 77-78 (FIG. 17A, B, C) canbe passed through the court and table base plate 47 and secured by abolt 85 on the bottom of the base plate 47.

FIG. 12 illustrates the lighting feature 79 is to be placed around threeof the four sides of the soccer field. Feature 79 comprises a lightsource 31 disposed inside of a tent-shaped translucent plastic displaystructure 81, 81′, with a decorative colored decal 82 on the face ofsurface 81′.

FIGS. 13A-D are elevation views of a diagram of a football field goalpost 62 and football pylons 60, 61 accessories. Bolt 85 is used to holdthe accessories to the base 47.

FIGS. 14A-B are elevation views of a diagram of a basketball courtbasketball hoop 65 accessory. Bolt 85 is used to hold the accessories tobase 47.

FIG. 15A-F are elevation views of a diagram of a baseball field homeplate 68, bases No. 1-3, 69 , and outfield wall 70 accessories. Bolt 85is used to hold the accessories to the base 47.

FIGS. 16A-D are elevation views of a diagram of a hockey rink goals 73and surrounding wall with glass extension 74 accessories. Bolt 85 isused to hold the accessories to the base 47.

FIGS. 17A-C are elevation views of a diagram of a soccer field goal 77and corner flag 78 accessories. Bolt 85 is used to hold the accessoriesto the base 47.

FIGS. 18A and 18B illustrates a padded headrest 183 which containsmagnets 184 to hold the front and back of the headrest 183 together whenplaced over the chair 185. The padded headrest 183 will have a team nameand logo on the front side, as shown in FIG. 18B.

FIG. 19 shows a side view of an embodiment of a bottle-cap holding plate100, which includes a plurality of recesses 102 for holding bottle caps43. Plate 100 is a single, thick, integrated plate that has had bottlecap recesses 102 machined out (e.g., milled) of the plate partiallythrough the thickness of the plate 100.

FIG. 20 shows a side view of another embodiment of a bottle-cap holdingplate. Perforated top plate 106 can be adhesively bonded or spot weldedto a solid back plate 104 to make a two-part structural laminate. Inother words, the spacing between the top and back plates is zero. Thetop plate 106 includes a plurality of recesses 102 for holding bottlecaps 43. The depth of the recesses 102 can be sufficiently deep so as tosecurely hold the bottle caps 43. The bottom plate 104 can have adifferent thickness than the top plate 106. For example, the bottomplate 104 can be thinner than the top plate 106.

FIG. 21 shows a side view of another embodiment of a bottle-cap holdingplate. Perforated top plate 106 can be adhesively bonded or spot-weldedto a solid back plate 104 to make a two-part structural laminate. Thetop of the array of bottle caps 43 is covered by a thin sheet 108 ofclear glass or clear plastic (e.g., acrylic or Plexiglas). This sheetserves to keep the bottle caps from falling out of their recesses 102when the entire table is moved.

In other embodiments, the bottle caps 43 can be glued in place in theirrecesses, to make them a permanent installation. Alternatively, a thick,removable adhesive can be used to make the bottle cap installationsemi-permanent.

FIG. 22 shows a side view of another embodiment of a bottle cap array.Here, a small magnet 200 is placed and glued inside a hole drilled inlower plate 104, inside of each recess 102, which magnetically attractsthe bottle caps to the lower plate and holds them in place.Alternatively, these types of magnets can be used in the embodimentsshown in FIG. 19-21.

In some embodiments, a large adhesive decal can be placed on bottle-capholding plate 97 that has an artistic depiction of many people sittingin their stadium seats. In this case, plate 97 would not need to beperforated, and could be a single plate thick.

In other embodiments, an adhesive decal of an image of a person (thesame or different persons) can be adhered to the top of each bottle cap.

In some embodiments, the wires for the LED lights can be fed down one ofthe legs, since the battery case can be mounted to one of the legs. Inother embodiments, the lighting can be driven by standard 120 V wallcurrent.

FIGS. 23A-C show different views of a plastic foot 204, which has athinner upper insert portion 202 that inserts into the bottom 99 ofhollow leg 22, 23, 24, 25. The purpose of the plastic foot 204 is toprevent corrosion of a metal (e.g., steel) leg when resting on awater-covered surface (e.g., when outdoors). Alternatively, the legs ofthe table 20 can be made of stainless steel or aluminum alloy. Theplastic foot 204 can be made of any plastic, such as polyethylene. Theplastic foot 204 can also help to prevent scratching of the flooring.Alternatively, the plastic foot 204 can have a rounded bottom profile(not shown).

FIGS. 24A-C are side elevation cross-section views of different examplesof the top frame 21. FIG. 24A illustrates an example where the frame'sprofile is made of two different rectangular cross-section rails, 21 and66, which are welded or bolted together to make an integral frame 21.FIG. 24B illustrates an example where the rail 21 is made of extrudedaluminum or aluminum alloy, which includes an inside extension(bump-out/ledge) 166 located on the inner edge of frame 21. FIG. 24Cillustrates an example where the frame 21 is made of extruded aluminumor aluminum alloy, wherein frame 21 comprises a curved, bull-nosed outeredge (corner) 210 (which is easily formed using an extrusion process).The three different frame profiles have approximately the same bendingstrength and stiffness.

FIG. 25A shows a plan view of a bottle cap 43 held with rubberized nubs300. Rubberized means that the nub 300 is made of rubber or any otherelastomer that has rubber-like, elastic properties. Three nubs are shownin FIG. 25A, although other numbers of nubs can be used (e.g., 4, 5, 6,etc.). The nubs can be glued into place, or held by friction.Alternatively, nubs 300 can be formed from a sheet of rubber orgasket-like material that is sandwiched in-between the top and bottomplates (27, 28).

FIG. 25B shows a cross-section side view of a bottle cap held with arubberized O-ring 302, which is disposed inside of circular recess 83.O-ring 302 is disposed inside of a groove 304 machined along the innerdiameter of recess 83. The flared ends 143 of the bottle caps 43 arecaptured and securely held underneath the O-ring confinement ring.

Having described my invention, I claim:
 1. A table configured toresemble a sporting arena of a specific sporting team, the tablecomprising: a lower frame connected to at least one leg, for holding ahorizontal base; wherein the base has an upper surface with a patternthat resembles a specific sporting area corresponding to the specificsporting team; and further comprising a plurality of bottle caps placedon a bottle-cap holding plate that is attached to the base and is tiltedat an angle with respect to a horizon; wherein placement of the bottlecaps mimic an audience of the sporting arena.
 2. The table of claim 1,further comprising a plastic laminate attached to the upper surface ofthe base, wherein the plastic laminate includes the pattern thatresembles the specific sporting area corresponding to the specificsporting team.
 3. The table of claim 1, wherein the sporting areaincludes one or more miniature surface accessories that are related toits respective sport, which are attached to the base though holesdisposed in the base.
 4. The table of claim 1, further comprisingperimeter lighting located behind translucent decals, which are relatedto the specific sporting team.
 5. The table of claim 1, wherein the tiltangle of the bottle-cap holding plate ranges from 20-45 degrees.
 6. Thetable of claim 5, wherein the tilt angle of the bottle-cap holding plateis 30 degrees.
 7. The table of claim 1, wherein the bottle-cap holdingplate comprises a perforated front plate and a solid back plate, whereina spacing between the front plate and the back plate is thinner than athickness of a standard bottle cap; and wherein the bottle caps aredisposed in perforations of the perforated front plate.
 8. The table ofclaim 1, wherein the bottle-cap holding plate is attached to the basewith at least one hinge, and the plate is rotatable about a horizontalaxis.
 9. The table of claim 7, wherein the front and back plates arespot-welded together at top and bottom locations to make the bottle-capholding plate.
 10. The table of claim 1, further comprising: (a) anupper frame attached to upper ends of the at least one leg; and (b) aclear tabletop made of clear glass or clear plastic that is held by theupper frame.
 11. The table of claim 7, wherein the spacing between thefront plate and back plate is zero, and the front plate is adhesivelyattached or spot-welded to the back plate.
 12. The table of claim 1,wherein the bottle-cap holding plate is a plate comprising an array ofrecesses that penetrate only partially through the plate's thickness;and wherein said recesses are sufficiently deep so as to securely holdthe bottle caps.
 13. The table of claim 1, further comprising a thin,clear glass or clear plastic cover sheet disposed on top of thebottle-cap holding plate, for securely holding the bottle caps in placewhen the table is moved.
 14. The table of claim 1, further comprising aplurality of magnets disposed in the bottle-cap holding plate, whereineach magnet holds an individual bottle cap in place.
 15. The table ofclaim 1, further comprising at least one plastic foot insert thatextends downwards from a bottom of the at least one leg.
 16. The tableof claim 10, wherein the upper frame is made of an extruded aluminumalloy, and includes a curved outside corner and a rectangular insideledge.
 17. The table of claim 1, wherein the bottle-cap holding platecomprises a plurality of rubberized nubs disposed inside of recesses inthe plate that removably hold each bottle cap in place.
 18. The table ofclaim 1, wherein the bottle-cap holding plate comprises a plurality ofrecesses, and each recess comprises an elastic O-ring disposed inside ofthe recess that removably holds a bottle cap in place.
 19. A tableconfigured to resemble a sporting arena of a specific sporting team; thetable including a base with a sporting surface selected from at leastone of: a football stadium; a basketball arena; a soccer stadium; abaseball stadium, and a hockey arena; wherein the sporting surfaceincludes a plurality of miniature surface accessories disposed on saidsurface, which are related to its respective sport; and wherein thetable includes perimeter lighting located behind decals that are relatedto its respective sporting team.
 20. The table of claim 19, wherein thesporting surface mimics a material of a real life sporting surface, forits respective sport.
 21. The table of claim 19, wherein the sportingsurface and decals are user customizable to a specific sporting team.22. The table of claim 19, wherein the decals are translucent, therebyallowing light to shine through.
 23. The table of claim 19, wherein thedecals are placed on a translucent supporting material allowing thelight to shine through and illuminate the decal.
 24. The table of claim20, wherein the sporting surface is artificial turf or green felt.
 25. Atable configured to resemble a sporting arena of a specific sportingteam, the table comprising: a lower frame connected to at least one leg,for holding a horizontal base; wherein the base has an upper surfacewith a pattern that resembles a specific sporting area corresponding tothe specific sporting team; further comprising a plastic laminateattached to the upper surface of the base, wherein the plastic laminatehas the pattern that resembles a specific sporting area corresponding tothe specific sporting team; wherein the sporting area includes one ormore miniature surface accessories that are related to its respectivesport, which are attached to the base though holes disposed in the base;further comprising perimeter lighting located behind translucent decalsthat are related to the specific sporting team; further comprising: aplurality of bottle caps placed in a section of the table, whereinplacement of the bottle caps mimic an audience of the sporting arena;and a bottle-cap holding plate attached to the base and placed at anangle to the horizontal, for holding the bottle caps; wherein the angleof the bottle-cap holding plate is 30 degrees from the horizontal;wherein the bottle-cap holding plate comprises a perforated front plateand a solid back plate, wherein a spacing between the front plate andback plates is thinner than the thickness of a standard bottle cap;wherein the bottle-cap holding plate is rotatable about a horizontalaxis; wherein the front plate includes perforations for holding eachbottle cap, and the back plate assists in holding the bottle caps inplace and prevents the caps from disengaging from the table; wherein thebottle-cap holding plate is attached to the base with at least onehinge; wherein the front and back plates are spot-welded together at thetop and bottom locations to make the bottle-cap holding plate; furthercomprising an upper frame attached to upper ends of the at least oneleg; and a clear tabletop made of clear glass or clear plastic that isheld by the upper frame; wherein the sporting arena includes a sportingsurface selected from at least one of: a football stadium; a basketballarena; a soccer stadium; a baseball stadium, and a hockey arena; whereinthe sporting surface mimics a material of a real life sporting surface,for its respective sport; wherein the sporting surface and decals areuser customizable to a specific sporting team; and wherein the decalsare translucent, thereby allowing light to shine through; furthercomprising at least one plastic leg cover that covers a bottom of the atleast one leg; and wherein the top frame is made of extruded aluminumalloy, including a curved outside corner and a rectangular inner ledge.26. A method of customizing a sporting arena table, comprising: (a)providing a sporting arena table with a user customizable set ofmultiple, bottle-cap holding plates disposed around the perimeter of thetable and attached to a central horizontal base with at least one hinge;(b) unlatching a latch holding an upper end of the bottle-cap holdingplate; (c) rotating the holding plate down into a horizontal position;(d) installing a vertical safety strap to secure the holding plate in ahorizontal position; (e) placing one or more bottle caps in one or morebottle cap recesses disposed in the holding plate; (f) removing thevertical safety strap; (g) rotating the holding plate back up into it'soriginal angled position, and (h) securing the plate closed by closingthe latch.